[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 438 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 438

    To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Joanne King Herring and 
posthumously to each of Charles ``Charlie'' Wilson and Gustav Lascaris 
  ``Gust'' Avrakotos, in recognition of their personal sacrifice and 
                        service to the country.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 21, 2015

Mr. Gene Green of Texas (for himself, Mr. McCaul, Ms. Jackson Lee, and 
 Ms. DeLauro) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Joanne King Herring and 
posthumously to each of Charles ``Charlie'' Wilson and Gustav Lascaris 
  ``Gust'' Avrakotos, in recognition of their personal sacrifice and 
                        service to the country.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Charlie Wilson, Gust Avrakotos and Joanne King Herring 
        played a critical role in ending the Soviet Union's invasion of 
        Afghanistan, which ultimately was a factor leading to the 
        collapse of the Soviet Union.
            (2) Charlie Wilson was elected to Congress in 1972 from the 
        2nd Congressional District of Texas and served until he retired 
        in 1996. He was a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
            (3) Gust Avrakotos joined the Central Intelligence Agency 
        (``CIA'') in 1962 and his assignments included a mission in 
        Greece and duty in the CIA's Langley, Virginia, headquarters. 
        While at Langley, Gust Avrakotos oversaw the largest covert 
        operation in the CIA's history to defeat the Soviet Union in 
        Afghanistan.
            (4) Joanne King Herring is a private citizen and 
        humanitarian who currently resides in Houston, Texas.
            (5) A few months after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan 
        in 1979, Joanne King Herring risked her life by traveling to 
        Afghanistan to film the atrocities that the Soviet soldiers 
        were inflicting on the Afghan people.
            (6) Joanne King Herring shared her film with prominent 
        current and former public officials, including then Vice 
        President George H.W. Bush, then CIA chief William Casey and 
        Henry Kissinger.
            (7) Congressman Charlie Wilson was a vocal opponent of the 
        Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and secured appropriations over 
        several years for the CIA's covert operation to fund the Afghan 
        resistance.
            (8) Joanne King Herring arranged for Charlie Wilson to 
        travel with her to Pakistan to visit Afghan refugee camps in 
        1982. After witnessing the physical harm caused by the Soviets 
        to the Afghan people, Charlie Wilson was further determined to 
        secure funding for the resistance movement.
            (9) In 1984, CIA officer Gustav Avrakotos contacted Charlie 
        Wilson, breaking the CIA's policy against lobbying Congress for 
        money, and asked Wilson for additional funding to support the 
        CIA's covert operation in Afghanistan, which Gustav Avrakotos 
        was leading.
            (10) The covert operation was successful and the Soviet 
        Union withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989.
            (11) The heroic efforts of Charlie Wilson, Joanne King 
        Herring and Gustav Avrakotos played a key role in leading to 
        the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of 
Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall make 
appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of the 
Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design to Joanne King Herring, 
and posthumous presentation of such a medal to each of Charles 
``Charlie'' Wilson and Gustav Lascaris ``Gust'' Avrakotos, in 
recognition of their personal sacrifice and service to the country.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award referred to 
in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act 
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike the gold medals with 
suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the 
Secretary.
    (c) Award of Medal.--Following the presentation of the gold medals 
referred to in subsection (a), the medals for Charles Wilson and Gustav 
Avrakotos shall be awarded respectively to Barbara Ablerstadt Wilson 
and Claudette M. Avrakotos, the wives of the deceased.

SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold 
medals struck pursuant to section 2 under such regulations as the 
Secretary may prescribe, at a price sufficient to cover the cost 
thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 
overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold medals.

SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS.

    (a) National Medals.--Medals struck pursuant to this Act are 
national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 
Code.
    (b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of sections 5134 and 5136 of 
title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this act shall be 
considered numismatic items.
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